The Other Barricade
by intrepidpoet1
Summary: My first Les Mis fanfiction. Jehan finds himself alone in front of a large barricade. It isn't the one he remembered building, but he can tell it's special.


**The Other Barricade**

"Vive la France! Vive la future!" He ran straight for the barricade and never looked back. He glimpsed Combeferre's face over the edge of the barricade. He seemed to be saying something, but the words were lost as the guns rang out.

Then nothing.

Black.

Then… Light. _Is this heaven?_ He thought. No… It wasn't heavenly light; close, but too familiar to be heaven. Then suddenly, he found himself standing before the biggest barricade he'd ever seen. Was that the capitol building behind it? And all of those flags; solid red, then red, white, and blue ones. Slowly, as if fearing what he wouldn't see, he turned around. Paris stretched out before him. But it wasn't the Paris he knew. No. It was the Paris he and the others had _dreamed_ of. It was no longer covered in sewage. The gutters were empty of people. People were walking about with happy smiles on their faces. Children were laughing. _Laughing._ The sights and the sounds brought tears to his eyes.

"Jehan!"

The heart-breakingly familiar voice made Jean Prouvaire turn on his heal. He looked up at the barricade and the tears renewed.

"Gavroche!"

In an instant he was climbing up the barricade and burying the brave boy in a hug. Then he looked over the Gavroche's shoulder. Standing tall and proud were the other boys of the barricades: the ones that had fallen before his. They stood guard over Paris, just as they had died doing. To Jehan's surprise, a few soldiers in uniform littered the area, but they held the same hope in their eyes as the students as they stared up at the barricade.

"How long have you been here, Gavroche?" Jean asked.

"Not sure. It's like days don't really pass here," the boy replied with a shrug.

"So… We-We're dead then?" It seemed like the only logical explanation, but that didn't mean Jehan had to like it. What about all of his friends back at the barricade? Would he see them again…

A voice from behind him interrupted his thoughts, "Yes. We are. But it's alright. Nothing can hurt anymore, and you'll see everyone again." Jehan turned and recognized the speaker as that girl who fell first on the barricade. Eponine wasn't it? She had died in Marius' arms…

As if reading his thoughts, Eponine stepped closer to him. "Is Marius alright?"

Jean Prouvaire nodded, "He was alright last I saw him. Sad, but… Then again everyone was… But we kept fighting. They're probably still fighting."

He wished he could have made it back to the barricade. At least that way he could have died with them. He could've stood side-by-side with his brothers until the last moment. He could have died with his friends. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like to see him die alone out there. Poor Combeferre was probably beside himself. Hopefully Enjolras could keep them all together for the next round; he was good at that.

"What happened to you, Jehan?" Gavroche questioned.

Jean Prouvaire flinched slightly at the memory. But Gavroche deserved to know. He sighed softly and began, "During one of the engagements, I was captured. They had me bound and were going to shoot me right there. I was able to break free of my bonds and run. I made a break for the barricade but… I didn't get there fast enough…" Jehan shut his eyes as the pain of that memory returned. Not the physical pain, but the emotional pain; the fear and the despair. But then… There had been a bit of hope. Maybe the others would rescue him? No… He couldn't allow them to put their lives at risk for his. That's what made him run; not to save himself, but to save his friends. So… Maybe dying alone wasn't such a bad thing? Gavroche hugged him again, and Jean Prouvaire sighed, letting go of his grief. This wasn't the place for those sort of feelings anymore.

He wasn't sure how long they waited. It really didn't seem all that long; there was no way to measure time here. But finally someone else climbed up the barricade. Jehan held his breath, waiting to see who it was.

"Bahorel!" Gavroche greeted him just as he had greeted Jehan. With a soft smile, Jean Prouvaire joined the two. It wasn't long after that the others slowly took their place on the barricade: Bossuet, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, and Joly. They held one another, wept together, and laughed together just as they had before. But there were still some missing… The group didn't feel complete without them. Yet, Jean Prouvaire held onto the hope that those three would make it out of this alive. At least, _someone_ had to live; someone had to carry on their legacy. As much as Jehan missed Enjolras, Grantaire, Marius, and especially Combeferre, he wanted them all to live.

"Jehan? Jean Prouvaire?!" the familiar voice made Jehan's heart lift and sink. He turned and was nearly thrown from the barricade as Combeferre –his dearest friend- smothered him in the tightest hug imaginable. For a long time, the two crouched together, wrapped in each other's arms and sobbing into one another's shoulder.

When they finally had control of themselves, Combeferre looked Jehan in the eye. "I was coming for you," he said, "I was going to put up a white flag and exchange you for that inspector. You should've stayed put!"

Jean Prouvaire chuckled softly, wiping away his tears. "They would've killed me anyway, and you as well. I didn't want any of you to get killed because of me. That's why I ran, 'Ferre," he explained quietly.

"Any of us would've died for you, Jehan!"

"I know… But I couldn't live with myself if you had."

Combeferre sighed in defeat. The two came to their feet and looked out at the new Paris. After another bout of waiting, Courfeyrac called, "Enjolras and Grantaire are climbing the barricade together!"

Jean Prouvaire and Combeferre were right there to greet them. "We're all together again," Jehan said, "Now this is really heaven."

_Fin_


End file.
